Young Malcolm Reynolds
by SuperheroGeek13
Summary: Mal's first brush with the alliance was nearly fatal. A mysterious spy from off-world informs him of a threat to a local church and they're the only ones that can stop it in time. Beware of random Original Characters.


On the planet Shadow, an outer rim planet with little more than farmland and small towns, there was a small church called St. Isidore's. It was a humble little church, but the number of parishioners had only grown since the Alliance started pushing the idea of "unification." It was Thursday evening now and the church was being locked up for the night.

Across the street from the church was a restaurant that didn't serve any food worth eating and honestly could have used a good cleaning. It was open, but the only customer there was a teenager by the name of Malcolm Reynolds. He sat in a booth and pretended to look over the small stained paper menu. He was waiting for someone and she was late.  
"Excuse me," said a voice from over his shoulder. Malcolm spun around surprised because he hadn't heard the stranger come up behind him. "Your name Malcolm?"  
"You're Karisa?" Malcolm asked confused. He didn't know quite what he had been expecting from his so called informant, but this girl didn't even seem like she was from a farm planet like Shadow. For one thing, she had blue streaks in her hair. "I was of the mind that snoops had a need to blend in," he said as he leaned back in his chair. Karisa sat down opposite of him and started shuffling through her duffel bag. "Blending in is overrated," she said as she pulled a handheld data pad from her bag. "So here's what I know; Central planet officers are planning to plant a bomb somewhere in this settlement."  
_"Shuh-muh?"_ Mal asked in outrage. "What cause do they have to attack us? Last I heard, we were still in negotiations!"  
"Well, negotiations sort of went south after the delegate of Shadow called one of the Alliance representatives a _Kuh-ooh duh lao bao jurn."_  
"You know where the bomb's supposed to be hidden?"  
"No, not for sure, but I have a hunch."  
"Well, quit wasting time! Where?!"  
"I think they're targeting St. Isidore's church across the street."  
"… They're what?"

An Alliance officer walked down the hallways of an Alliance Drop Ship. There were several of these ships orbiting around the rim planets "just in case of emergencies." Right now, the ship had landed on Shadow for repairs or at least that's what the official story was.  
The officer wondered why his superiors hadn't taken more precautions with this covert attack. The Independents already distrusted the looming drop ships (it had taken them ages just to convince the locals to allow them this emergency landing) and none of the officers had been issued civilian clothing either. Shouldn't they have come in disguise? It almost seemed like the Alliance wanted the Independents to know they were attacking. Almost like they were picking a fight.  
The officer reached the storage area where their scientists were already prepping the bomb for his mission. He and another handful of officers under his command were to take the device to St. Isidore's, set the timer, and then leave without being noticed. "Easy enough," thought the officer as he loaded his gun.

Malcolm came out of the back room of the restaurant dressed in an Alliance uniform. Karisa had brought it for him to wear, but now she looked him over shaking her head. "They're never going to buy this," she said. "You're not primped and polished enough to pass for an Alliance officer." Malcolm stared at her in disbelief. "That's why they're not going to buy it?" he said indignantly. "I'm fifteen-years-old! Not a man in the 'verse that'd believe I was Alliance!"  
Karisa simply shuffled through her bag again. Malcolm was starting to wonder if this girl was really on the level. None of the guys back home on the ranch had paid any attention to her wave and his mother had thought it was joke. "So, just how did you find out about this 'covert attack?'" he asked casually.  
"Well, they're not exactly being subtle about it, are they?" she said.  
"No, I suppose not."  
"Lets go, they must be on the move by now," Karisa said as she headed towards the door. They had promised the owner that they would lock up.

Inside St. Isadora's a woman named Anna was mopping up muddy footprints in the vestibule. She knew that she could have come in bright and early tomorrow morning to clean up around the church, but she couldn't sleep and thought that she might as well get some work done while she was up.  
Suddenly she heard a creaking noise. She moved quietly towards the fogged glass windows that looked out into the church. There was definitely someone moving around in there.  
"Do you even know how to pick a lock?!" said a muffled voice, not from inside the church, but from outside the front door. The woman backed through the door that lead up to the bell tower. The front door to the church quietly opened and Malcolm slipped inside. Karisa came in after him as she packed a lock pick kit back into her bag. Malcolm closed the door behind them and wiggled the now very loose doorknob. "If this church needs a new lock, you're paying for it!" he hissed at her. "The officers should be here any minute," she said, not seeming to notice his last comment.  
Anna then jumped out of her hiding place and held small handgun to the two young intruders. _"Tyen shiao duh,_ you're just a couple of kids!" she said angrily. "What do you think you're doing here?"

The two intruders put their hands in the air and Malcolm glared at Karisa. He was sure that somehow this was her fault. Malcolm recognized this woman as one of the regular churchgoers. Suddenly he noticed shapes in the church moving towards the side doors into the vestibule. Malcolm was sure that they were Alliance and the Alliance was more than likely to shoot first and ask questions later. He had to do something!  
"Miss Anna, don't you recognize me?" he began. "I'm Malcolm Reynolds! You talk to my Mom every Sunday after church."  
"Little Malcolm?" the woman finally said in shock. "Why are you dressed in those ridicules clothes?"  
"It's a long story, but right now I need you to put the gun away, please!"  
"Oh, of course. Sorry."  
The moment the woman lowered her weapon, Malcolm grabbed for his gun and took aim at her. "Alright, up against the wall!" he shouted. The woman walked over to the wall confused just as the Alliance officers made it into the vestibule. "Not to worry, men, I've got this situation under control here," Malcolm said as he pulled the brim of his hat down to conceal his face a bit more. "Who are you?" asked one of the officers.  
"Why I'm petty officer Jones…sir. I was sent out just behind you."  
"Do you think I'm an idiot, boy?"  
"No, not at all…sir. I was just following orders, sir."  
"And who's your friend?" he asked indicating Karisa. Malcolm looked over at her to see that she was holding her gun behind her back in both hands. "She's my prisoner!" Malcolm said. "I found her wandering around the church."  
"She doesn't look like a native of Shadow…"  
"I know, right?"  
None of the officers nor Malcolm and his friend seemed to notice Anna at the moment. She couldn't let the these kids get hurt. She rushed forward and pushed Malcolm and Karisa through a door that lead to the basement. She locked it behind them and broke the key in the lock just before she was hit from behind by one of the officers.

Malcolm struggled with the locked door, but it wouldn't open. "Karisa! Get over here and pick this lock!" he shouted. Karisa grabbed Malcolm by the arm and dragged him to the ground just as gunshots came raining through the door. Then they could hear someone kicking at the door, but it didn't budge. "Enough," they heard the lead officer say. "Leave them where they are. We have a job to finish."  
"Pick the lock!" Malcolm ordered Karisa again.  
"I dropped my bag when that woman pushed us," she sighed.  
"Can't you be helpful just once?!" he said and then turned to struggle with the door again. Malcolm wasn't much for praying, but he knew he needed help now. If there was anyway out of there and anyway to stop those men, he prayed that God would share it with him. Malcolm decided to take a good look around the room. There didn't seem to be much around except for storage, but directly on his right was another door. He quickly ran to open it, but all he found was a small janitor's closet. Karisa walked across the room to another door and looked inside, but all she found was the water heater. "Nothing here…" she said, but Malcolm seemed to disagree because he rushed passed her into the small room. He had noticed a light coming into the room and sure enough there was a small window up against the ceiling. "Well, alleluia," Malcolm said with a smile.

The Alliance officers had the bomb set up in a pew and ready to go. Hopefully, the three would-be-eyewitnesses would be taken out with the blast. The lead officer took a good look around at the church with its gothic structure and colorful stained glass windows. He was starting to wonder if potentially starting a war on church grounds was some sort of jinx. But he knew why the Central Planets had ordered this attack. The sanctimonious Delegate of Shadow should have known better than to go on and on about the "God given rights of every man and the Christian belief in a life of principles and freedom."

_DONG! DONG! DONG!_

Suddenly the sound of the church bells rang out. The Alliance officers all froze in fear that they'd been discovered. "Maybe it's an automated system?" suggested one of them. "We're not taking any chances. Check it out," replied their leader. As three of the officer broke off to investigate the lead officer turned to his two remaining men. "As for you, get that timer set now. Thirty minutes."  
The three officers made their way into the vestibule where they found the bell tower door opened. They climbed the long narrow flight of winding stairs to the small room with the bell high overhead. The moment they had poked their heads into the room, they were struck by a large stone that was hanging from the rope for the bell and swinging up and down dangerously.  
Malcolm and Karisa were hiding in the vestibule when one of the officers' hats came rolling down the winding staircase to the bell tower. "That takes care of them," he said cautiously. "Now lets see to that bomb."  
The lead officer had set the timer at 30 minutes. That should give them plenty of time to get back to the Drop Ship. The explosion was only meant to take out the church, so they didn't have to worry, too much about distance. What was worrying him was that the sound of the church bell hadn't stopped yet. What were his men doing up there? "Sir, there's a lot of movement out there," said one of the officers coming out of the chapel room where they had come in. "Civilians?" asked the officer worried. The other officer nodded. They must have heard the bell ringing. The officers couldn't afford to be seen by anyone else. "Lets make our way back," he finally said. With that order, they all headed out the way they came.

Malcolm rushed into the church with his gun drawn, but there was no sign of the alliance officers. "Just like the Alliance to leave their men behind," he said as he scouted out the pews. He found the cleaning lady knocked out in one of the back rows. She was breathing and he didn't see any blood. Malcolm wasn't a doctor, but he took that to mean that she was alright for now. He ran down a few more rows and finally came across the bomb under one of the seats. He pulled it out from its hiding place slowly and surveyed the timer, 20:55 minutes and counting. _"Ganshi shongdi de shou mang,"_ he said with relief. "We've got time to disarm it." He looked up to find Karisa sitting beside Anna with a first aid kit. "Karisa! What do we need to do to shut this thing down?" he shouted. Karisa finished up with Anna and ran to Malcolm's side. She stared down at the ticking clock as if at a loss. Malcolm looked at her indignantly and shouted, "Don't you know how to stop it?!" Karisa only shook her head ruefully.  
The sound of the bell tower rang on and the sound of the townsfolk outside grew louder. A priest came marching into the church with a few other people from the parish, but Malcolm barely noticed them walk up. He just stared at the timer, 18:25. "I can make it," he thought to himself.

The Alliance officers rendezvoused with the drop ship on schedule. The lead officer checked the timer he had synced with the explosive. It was at 01:22 and counting. They were close enough that they'd be able to hear whenever the device went off. All things considered, the mission had gone rather smoothly. The Central Planets would surely commend him for his performance.  
Suddenly there was a deafening roar and the entire ship lurched to one side as if hit by something. Everyone aboard went stumbling into the wall or onto the floor. Alarms buzzed and beeped as the lead officer got to his feet and saw the rising smoke from an explosion outside the ship, no more than twelve yards away. "What just happened?" he thought. Had they horribly miscalculated the force of the explosion? Had there been a malfunction of some sort? Who was responsible for this?!

Malcolm had been running as fast as he could from where he left the bomb. The force of the explosion had knocked him on his face, all manner of debris had fallen around him, and his ears were ringing so loudly that he couldn't hear the sound of his own laughter. He'd done it. He'd saved St. Isidore's from being destroyed, he'd carried a bomb all the way to the drop ship without blowing up, and he'd taught the Central Planets not to underestimate the rim planets ever again. Malcolm had never really asked from help from on high before, but the Lord had sure come through for him. "_Sheh-sheh Shongdi,_" Malcolm whispered.  
He got back to his feet and continued running on his tired legs back to the church.  
As soon as he got there, he found that almost the entire town was crowded around the church.  
"Malcolm!" shouted a voice that Malcolm knew all to well. "Where have you been? What's all this nonsense about an explosion?!" His mother asked a great deal of questions as she ran to his side and hugged him.  
"No need to worry," Malcolm assured her. "Karisa and I had it all under control."  
"Who's Karisa?"  
"She's the girl that I left in the church…" Malcolm began to scan the crowd for any sign of his informant.  
"Miss Anna?" his mother asked confused.  
"No, the other…she wasn't there?"  
"Malcolm! What are you talking about?"  
"Nothing…just some spook."

The End.


End file.
